Awesome Bourbon has upper hand in Overskate; race may be Town Cruise's finale

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s $100,000 Overskate Stakes at Woodbine could be the final race for 2021 Woodbine Mile winner Town Cruise. It also marks the one-year anniversary of Perfect Crime’s victory in the 7 1/2-furlong inner turf event. Neither will be favored Sunday, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them both run well.

Town Cruise had his day in the sun when he led all the way in the $1.1 million Woodbine Mile, a remarkable win for little-known owner-trainer Brandon Greer, who has campaigned the now 9-year-old gelding judiciously in recent years and sent him out to finish third in last year’s Overskate.

Town Cruise got a late start to this campaign. He faded from a pace-pressing position to finish seventh in his Sept. 15 season opener, a race the gelding needed. Greer said the Overskate could be his swan song.

“I can’t say it for sure, but I would like it to be his last race,” Greer said. “If he comes out of it and starts shooting rainbows everywhere and just looks fantastic, it will be difficult to stop, but this is the one I do want to stop on.

“He’s kind of hard to read right now. He’s enjoying everything he’s doing, training almost casually. I do like where he is now.”

Greer said there are no long-term retirement plans for the strapping chestnut.

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“I think we’ll take him home for the winter, let him chill out and grow a big, fluffy coat,” Greer said.

Perfect Crime notched his only stakes win in the 2023 Overskate while earning a 92 Beyer Speed Figure. The 6-year-old, who has failed to win in six outings this year, is coming off a belated third in a seven-furlong conditioned allowance/optional claimer on the main turf.

Trainer Patrick Dixon said Perfect Crime prefers the cooler weather and the inner turf.

“He’s doing well and he really loves that course,” Dixon said. “I haven’t had a real chance to stretch him out this year, and it will feel like a longer race to him on the inner turf. I think that’s what he wants to do – stretch out a little bit, get his feet underneath him, and come with a run. I’d like to see him a little closer this time, depending on how the speed sets up.”

Gulfstream Park shipper Awesome Bourbon could go favored in the seven-horse field of Ontario-sired runners. Trainer Jose D’Angelo claimed him for local owner Carlo D’Amato for $35,000 in August, and the colt nearly won a $75,000 handicap on Sept. 7. The former Woodbine runner breezed a half-mile in 48.80 seconds over Gulfstream’s Tapeta on Oct. 6. Leading rider Sahin Civaci has the mount.

Rapid Test looks like a player. He cleared the second allowance condition at 58-1 two starts back going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf. The 4-year-old ran fourth behind the good Dresden Row most recently in the Grade 3 Durham Cup on the Tapeta.

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